1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to land vehicle bodies and tops, and more particularly to operator's cabs having sleeping accommodations. Most particularly, one manifestation of the invention enables expansion of a sleeper cab while preserving the appearance and a majority of the components of the original sleeper cab.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern society depends upon the free exchange of goods, not only in a local community but throughout nations and between nations. Experience suggests that with free exchange comes prosperity, while barriers harm all citizens. A century and more ago, civilizations relied upon ships to transport goods across water, and horse-drawn wagons to transport goods across land. Unfortunately, transport across large distances took much time and money. In the case of water, while the ships may not have traveled particularly quickly, they were capable of carrying many tons of cargo at a time, making the costs relatively small per unit of cargo. Transport across land was quite different, since each horse-drawn wagon was very limited in capacity. Furthermore, land transport across large distances was in many cases essentially impossible, due to natural land barriers such as deserts and mountains. As a result, large populations developed where good access to the seas existed, while many inland areas remained sparsely populated.
With the advent of the railroads, goods were able to be transported in large quantity from sea ports inland to all points along the tracks, and the amount of time in transit was greatly decreased from horse-drawn wagons. The railways provided a means for distribution to many more locations than could be achieved previously, allowing for population growth and development in previously remote inland areas.
Unfortunately, much time was still required to haul goods to and from the stops along the rail. Consequently, development continued to be centered adjacent to the rail stops, leaving much to be desired in terms of final distribution. A major advancement came with the development of large trucks, and roadways capable of supporting these trucks. For the first time, goods could be transported directly from a source location to a final destination, both in large quantity and quickly, anywhere across the land where a roadway existed.
Early trucks simply coupled an operator cab to the cargo container. In fact, many such trucks are still in use today. However, longer transport distances are frequently required, taking more time than a single day. Such travel leads to the driver frequenting hotels and motels along the travel route. As many travelers know, hotels and motels vary from location to location, and from one visit to the next. Furthermore, the cost of staying in hotels and motels on a nightly basis accumulates over time into substantial cost over and above the other transportation costs. Finally, depending upon the route and such unpredictable factors as weather and road construction, a hotel or motel may not always be available where desired or required.
In consideration of the costs and unpredictability of hotels and motels, trucks have been fitted with a sleeper cab which provides a sleeping space for an operator. For over-the-road drivers, these sleeper cabs ensure suitable space for truly restful sleep, and are certain to be available to the driver whenever needed. In addition to providing a predictable place for rest, the sleeper cab has permitted drivers to pair up, so that one driver may be sleeping while another is driving. In this way, long distance transport times may be significantly reduced, further advancing the exchange of goods and services, and in turn boosting prosperity.
As might be expected, the inclusion of a sleeper cab has additional consequence. The sleeper cab adds cost to the truck, and so must be used sufficiently over the life of the truck to pay the extra cost. Consequently, it makes little sense to include a sleeper cab in a truck primarily used for local delivery. Instead, these cabs have been reserved for trucks which are used for relatively longer distance hauling. However, with the inclusion of a sleeper cab, a driver also spends much more time in the truck, and has less access to other common amenities, such as showers, toilets, television, and the like that most people take for granted.
For the over-the-road drivers that spend even greater amounts of time on longer routes, more elaborate sleeper cabs have been devised that include essentially all of the amenities that may be found in a typical hotel or motel room. Furthermore, these sleeper cabs are, once again, available at any time, and are always predictable. For long-distance drivers, these more elaborate sleeper cabs can be a great blessing. A good night of rest can only help improve the safety of the driver. The time and expense for transporting a load can be reduced. Both contribute to the overall prosperity of an economy.
As might be appreciated, when more amenities are provided in the relatively limited space available even in a double long sleeper cab, such amenities will most frequently be desired to be custom to suit the needs and desires of a particular driver or driving team. Consequently, the major truck manufacturers cannot produce stock double-long sleepers to meet the custom needs of each driver. Instead, the truck manufacturers produce the rig together with an optional, much more basic, single-length sleeper cab, which provides a sleeping space, often with sufficient room for a small television, stereo or other small appliances and conveniences. As aforementioned, such basic sleepers are more than adequate for drivers that are carrying a mix of local and longer distance loads, and for newer owner-operators that cannot afford a more expensive custom rig.
The challenge comes when an owner wishes to upgrade from a stock sleeper to a custom extended-length sleeper cab. In the industry today, custom sleepers are assembled separate from the truck. The existing sleeper cab is removed and scrapped, and the custom sleeper is placed upon the truck. The economics made possible by separately manufacturing the sleeper commonly outweigh the cost of scrapping the stock sleeper. Further, the pre-manufacture of the sleeper box reduces the amount of time required for installation. As with other industries, time is money. Finally, some of the fabrication techniques utilize a single, integrated assembly, without separate fasteners or other components. Consequently, alterations are not possible in those constructions. As may be appreciated, this approach leads to undesirable waste of the existing sleeper.
A number of patents illustrate the various current fabrication and assembly techniques used with modern sleeper cabs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,684 by Stephens et al, entitled “Truck with tilting cab and non-tilting separated sleeping compartment,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a sleeper that mates with a sealing surface at the rear of the cab when the cab is in operational position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,177 by Elliston, entitled “Truck operator's cab with equipment control station,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a sleeper compartment modified to include a control station in its aft end. U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,834 by Moffatt et al, entitled “Truck sleeper cab”,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a composite sleeper module to mount behind the truck cab, with a flexible sealing interface between sleeper and cab. U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,239 by Koske et al, entitled “Modular cab and sleeper structural assembly for a truck-tractor vehicle,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes independent cab and sleeper assemblies with couplings to reduce the likelihood of damage to both. U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,673 by Angelo, entitled “Truck cab and sleeper assembly,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a cab to sleeper interface using bolt-together construction with a sealing gasket. U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,486 by Novoa et al, entitled “Truck roof mounting system,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a roofing system that uses a modular roof assembly to cover cab and sleeper. U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,129 by Baggett et al, entitled “Flare module truck sleeper cab assembly,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes making a flared sleeper using many of the same body components used in a standard width sleeper. Left and right side flare modules are used to extend the sleeper outward. Finally, Des 320,583 by Simons et al, entitled “Combined truck cab body and sleeper compartment,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, illustrates a prior art stock sleeper cab.
Undesirably, the custom sleeper will invariably look like a retrofit, significantly changing the appearance of the truck. In some instances, an owner will welcome the change in appearance. However, particularly where an owner has made a substantial investment in a high quality truck of desired appearance, such as a Kenworth brand truck or the like, the owner may not welcome the change in appearance that comes with the replacement custom sleeper. Unfortunately, no alternative exists in the industry today which can combine an OEM appearance with custom fabrication.